East Asian women outraged by ‘sexist, racist’ advertisement from German home-improvement store Hornbach
- A commercial by a German DIY company showing an Asian woman enjoying the odour of a white man’s soiled clothes has sparked accusations of sexism and racism
- The firm has disputed the claims, saying the ad was about the “decreasing quality of life in cities”
.png?itok=arIb17P0)
A German advertisement showing an Asian woman getting aroused after sniffing dirty laundry worn by Caucasian men has sparked outrage, with many East Asian women calling it sexist and racist, and demanding an apology from the company.
The commercial, produced by German DIY-store chain Hornbach, shows white men working outside in a garden before removing their sweaty clothing and dumping it in a box.
The advert then cuts to a grey, industrial city that resembles Tokyo, where an Asian woman buys a bag of dirty clothes – previously worn by the men – opens it and sighs with pleasure, as the commercial ends with a slogan saying: “That’s how the spring smells”.
Opinion: How gender stereotyping in ads is bad for women and men, and why it persists
Some took to social media to slam Hornbach, which uploaded the ad on March 15, for promoting stereotypes against Asian women.
“Many Asians experiencing sexism and racism in Germany are voicing their thoughts and concerns, and criticising the much misguided #hornbach ad but you are ignoring us and denying our experiences, as if you would know better,” an irate South Korean user wrote on Twitter.
The Chinese were white – until white men called them yellow
Another commenter asked: “Would (or could) you do that to other ethnic groups? Or is it because Asians are a minority in Germany without representational/political force? Do you really think your ad is politically correct?”
In a series of tweets, the German home-improvement store fired back at detractors, claiming the ad was “not racist” and was about the “decreasing quality of life in cities”.
The firm also said the industrial town featuring the Asian woman was meant to be a “fictional city”, not one based in Asia.
But its critics were unimpressed, with one South Korean woman tweeting: “The ad was sexist, racist, fetishised East Asian women and now they are trying to talk their way out of it?”
Others on social media were confused over the content of the commercial. “While that ad is undoubtedly racist, it’s also bizarre,” said Twitter user Peter Carvill. “What are they trying to sell?”
